Sins of Our Father
by a 1000 paper cranes
Summary: Omega is defeated and the planet is saved - or is it? Deepground's defeat brought about not only the peace that so many sought, but also shed light on a secret, a secret that even Shinra wasn't aware of. A madman's legacy continues as a sister searches for her brother - but for what purpose? For salvation... or retribution? Post-DoC.
1. Prologue

_Sin._

_My sin is… I exist._

* * *

The clash of metal against metal echoed off the boulders that littered the barren wasteland. The two figures repeatedly attacked, oblivious to their surroundings as they dodged, parried, and continued to battle each other relentlessly.

Sunlight glinted off the silver sword, almost crystalline in appearance as its wielder leapt back a few feet and paused in her attacks, a hand brushing aside the sweat-dampened hair that impeded her vision. She glanced up at her opponent with grim determination and tightened her grip with narrowed eyes; dust began to circle around her just as she sprang forward, sword raised towards the young man.

The obsidian blade of his sword seemed to absorb not only light, but also life itself as he crouched a moment and twisted the hilt within his right hand. His eyes flashed silver towards the young woman, full of sinister intent, as he shifted cat-like and steadied himself. A split-second later, he sprinted forward to meet her head-on, a malevolent smile on his lips.

Their swords met in a cacophony of steel as their blades locked and they found themselves eye to eye, a whirlwind of black versus white materia-generated energy rising around them.

"You know you cannot win. Why do you persist in this?" His smile grew colder as he pushed forward and felt her slip backwards a little.

"Because I have to. Because… " Her brow furrowed with determination as she felt the black energy flare from him; the young woman's eyes darkened further as she fought against it and held her ground. "I am the only one who can."

* * *

_**A/N: All characters are property of SE, blah blah, except my OC of course. Takes place post-DoC - I tried to keep things cannon as possible with a sprinkling of liberty here and there. Ignore the grammatical errors - story, people, story! R&R to your heart's content, and thanks for reading! =)**_


	2. A Note

Midgar Edge. A year has passed since the Omega Incident at the center of the old city ruins, and once again the city's former inhabitants worked to regain some semblance of a normal life. Edge, as it was commonly known, had slowly been reconstructed back to its pre-Deepground war state and as a result, the city was bustling with more and more people on a daily basis.

Geostigma, the affliction that was a result of Sephiroth's infection of the planet's Lifestream, had almost been eradicated from the population; only small groups of infected still made their way to the old church in the ruins to be cured by the mysterious waters that lie there. Some had taken it upon themselves to build a makeshift shelter next to the clinic to temporarily house those that had nowhere to go once they were cured, and it was here that Risa often found herself.

"Here, let me help you, " Risa knelt and helped an elderly woman dressed in tattered grey rags lie on a dusty cot within one of the tents. "Blanket?" The old woman shook her head – she simply wanted to sleep without pain, for once, now that her Geostigma was finally gone.

Risa smiled faintly before venturing out into the sunlight. She inhaled deeply, eyes closed against the high-noon sun before she turned and walked off towards the direction of her motorcycle. _Time to go. Again._

The cycle's engines echoed loudly against the crumbling metal walls of the old ruins, at least until she neared Edge proper and began to see signs of life in progress. The traffic thickened as she made her way towards the center monument, completed finally after the battle that took place a few years ago. 'Keep on Rockin' in Midgar – Again' was the ironic plaque at the base, though the irony was lost amidst the plethora of flowers that often covered it. Risa's eyes glanced briefly at it – the monument held a different meaning for her since its depiction of the great Meteorfall incident reminded her of something more sinister. And personal.

She pulled up in front of the small hotel where she'd been staying the past week and knocked on the desk inside to grab the innkeeper's attention. "Any messages for me, Jack?'

A wizened but kind-looking aged man peered out from the office in the back. "No miss, nothin' today." He chewed on the end of his pencil thoughtfully and added 'Y'know, if you's plan on stayin' longer, I'm sure we's can work somethin' out for pricin'… you been a good customer."

Risa nodded appreciatively. "Thanks Jack, that's awful kind of you, but I don't mind. Times are hard, " she added, "and I don't mind paying someone what's due." _And I have a lot of dues I owe that can't simply be paid with gil, either,_ she thought rather grimly.

"Course, let me know if ye change yer mind. Take care miss, " and he tapped his forehead once in acknowledgment before disappearing back to work.

Risa adjusted her sunglasses and headed back out onto the street, her first order of business to find a clothes repair shop somewhere nearby. The dye to hide her stark white hair was fading again, and she needed to remedy that. Fast. _Last thing I need is to be corralled with questions I really don't want to answer._

* * *

His fingers tapped impatiently on the worn, scratched wood of the table as he flipped through a yellowed notebook that had seen better days. Scribbled words and diagrams decorated the pages in a haphazard manner, a reflection of the mad scientist who had recorded his observations so long ago.

"For all your genius Father, you could have kept better notes." The young man pushed back from the table with annoyance and slid his chair towards the computer terminal that glowed expectantly. His silvery eyes reflected the green light with an otherworldly glow as he brought up screen after screen of text and images.

"There has to be something here, something about… _her_… " His fingers paused a moment before they continued to click away at the keyboard. He read another passage that ended abruptly, then stood angrily and slammed his palms on the keyboard. "Damn it to hell! It has to be here some—"

"Exedis." A sinuous, feminine voice came from the doorway where a slender figure could be seen hiding in the shadows. "Why so troubled? It doesn't suit you." The voice's owner stepped out into the dim light and settled herself demurely on a table nearby.

Exedis glared at his companion, took a deep breath, and regained his composure. "You're right, Amaria. But this," and he pointed towards the computer, "is turning into a complete waste of my time."

Amaria feigned boredom with a yawn as she twirled a curled tendril of pale blond hair. "Perhaps it is there, but you are not asking the right questions, no?" Equally yellow eyes narrowed with amusement as she watched his reaction. "I am no expert on information like that little disgrace Shelke was, but as a Tsviet, I have my own talents, wouldn't you agree?"

"Yes, you do." Exedis ran his fingers through his black hair before continuing. "Perhaps I need to head back to Midgar. The bulk of Father's research was there. This is probably a dead end." He smirked at his little joke and tapped the monitor impatiently once again.

"I still think you will find what you need here, my love." Amaria gestured towards the direction of the rest of the manor. "Your father may have done the bulk of _Shinra's_ work at Midgar, but we both know his true work was done outside of the boundaries of the company."

Exedis hadn't thought of that. "True enough. No matter." He raised his left arm and a symbol etched inside his wrist began to glow. Dark purple energy shimmered around his hand until it finally coalesced into a small, iridescent orb within his palm. "Soon, I will find her, and when I do, I will finish what Father started, and it will all be mine."

Amaria gazed at him with her most seductive smile. "Ours my love. Ours."

Exedis returned her smile, but didn't answer.

* * *

Risa emerged from the inn late in the afternoon but only after she was satisfied that her 'uniqueness' wouldn't raise any questions among the locals. It had taken a good 3 bottles of the black-brown dye she'd bought, but in the end she was relatively satisfied with the ash-brown color that now framed her face. _I kind of like it, to be honest. Too bad it doesn't last for more than a few weeks._

She flipped her collar up around her neck and tucked her hands in her pockets as she made her way onto the street in search of a small pub that was purported to be a local favorite.

Thirty minutes later, she found herself outside of a relatively crowded bar named '7th Heaven.' Risa peered inside and after a second decided it looked safe enough and went in, making her way straight towards an empty stool near the end of the bar.

"Hello… hey, hello!" She waved a hand towards the bartender; the flash of light on the silver cuff she wore must have caught the girl's eye since she looked up immediately and nodded. "One sec, be right there."

Risa rested her chin on her hand as she glanced around at the various photos and mementos hanging on the wall behind the counter. One photo in particular caught her attention: it depicted a group of people standing outside of the bar's entrance in various poses, some funny, some not so much. Her eyes lingered momentarily on each figure: a young man with spiky blond hair and a serious expression; a toy-like cat settled upon a rather large, red canine; a young teen carrying a relatively large shuriken with a goofy smile on her face; a cheerful young girl and somber young boy, holding hands; an older man wearing a pair of goggles on his head; a large dark-skinned man with what looked like a metal prosthetic; the aforementioned bartender; and finally, a dark-haired man with pale skin and crimson eyes, arms crossed to reveal a golden gauntlet on his left hand.

_What an interesting rag-tag bunch of people,_ she thought. _Judging by what they look like, I'd say these were the ones who had a part in that whole Meteorfall thing._ Which would explain the popularity of the otherwise run-of-the-mill bar.

"Sorry, what can I get for you?" The woman with the long dark hair she'd seen in the picture approached her with a smile as she dried her hands on a towel.

Risa blinked back towards her a moment. _This one… this must be her. Unless my informant was a liar. Or a cheat. Or both._ "Uh, whatever's good that you have on tap. I'm not picky." She nodded up towards the photo. "That's you, I take it?"

The young woman glanced up at the wall and laughed as if she'd heard the question a thousand times before. "Yeah, that's me. A while ago." Her eyes went distant for a moment before she reached for a glass beneath the counter. "I've gottttt… some good brew from Junon, if that works?"

Risa slid a few gil across the counter. "Proof is in the gil – that will be perfect." She rested her chin in her hands again, as she scanned the occupants of the bar. _Looks normal enough in here, now let's see how I can do this… subtly. _

"Here you go. Enjoy it!" The girl slid the glass towards Risa and in turn, Risa slid two more gil towards her, but with something else tucked between the bills. Her eyes followed the dark-haired girl as she took it and noticed the hidden slip of paper.

_Either I'm going to get what I need – or I'm going to get asked to leave pretty quick._

To her credit, the young woman kept her expression calm and cool as she opened the paper and read the note:

_Tifa Lockhart, I need your help. Please. Jessa sent me._

Risa tried not to wince and instead took a rather long sip of her beer in an attempt to hide her nervousness. _This could be bad…_

"Actually, I think you might like something a bit more local than that Junon brew. " The woman met Risa's eyes with no hint of what she was thinking, and gestured towards a door off to the side. "Follow me if you will, we store it separately since it has a tendency to walk out of here on its own."

Risa watched the young woman carefully as she looked for any hint of a trap. _And I thought I was good with a poker face,_ she thought dryly. "Stored separately, huh." She nodded and gestured towards the bartender. "Lead on." _I'll be right behind you ready to skewer you if you try anything._

"Lesa, keep an eye on the bar for me a moment?" A younger blonde at the other end nodded and waved her off. "Follow me."

Risa kept close to the young girl as she led her upstairs into what seemed like a private office/living area. Her senses were on edge a bit as she scouted the room quickly, only to hear the click of a door being shut behind her. And locked. _Here we go…_

"So. Why exactly do you need my help?"

Risa looked over at the girl who, now confirmed, was Tifa Lockhart. She kept her guard up however – Tifa was a formidable hand-to-hand combat specialist, and Risa really didn't feel like drawing attention with a full-on girlfight above a room full of people. "I… I'm looking for someone." _Yeah, stammer more, you're a real badass now._

Tifa didn't look phased. "Oh? Who?"

"Cloud Strife." _May as well make this quick and to the point._

She looked suspicious now. "Cloud, huh. Need something delivered?" She had slowly worked her way towards the desk, but made no sudden moves. "He's actually out on a run as we speak, probably won't be back for a few more days."

Risa met her eyes for a moment and made a decision. _She's a Jenova war hero for Gaea's sake, it's not like she's a Remnant or anything._ "Sorry, I don't mean to make you uncomfortable. I'm just looking for someone and thought he might be able to help me find him."

Tifa stayed suspicious as she looked Risa over. "And you are?"

"Risa. I'm from… " _From where? Nothing? A lab? A madman's imagination? _"Midgar originally, and I'm looking for a relative of mine." _Slick, Ri. _"He's been missing since the Omega Incident, and since I'd heard about your group's part in the Jenova war, I thought you might have some connections." Risa tried to look relaxed and sat on a chair near the window.

Tifa continued to eye the young girl. _There's something about her… not bad, just. Something. _ "Jessa's always spinning those stories, but she's a good person. If she trusted you enough to send you, well, perhaps I can help. " She moved around and sat at the chair behind the desk, facing Risa. "Or at least I can get you in contact with someone that can." She picked up her phone and started looking for said person in her contact list.

"Thanks but… I'm trying to keep this as quiet as possible. I don't want to stir up too much attention." She fiddled with a buckle on her jacket and continued, her eyes grim. "Not that I'm hiding anything but, yeah…"

Tifa looked up for a moment, a bit surprised, then replied rather cheerfully: "No problem. I'm going to put you in contact with someone who's a pro at keeping things under the radar." She set the phone down and as she waited for a reply, decided to try and learn more about this girl who dropped out of nowhere. "What part of Midgar were you from?"

Risa looked up at Tifa and tried to block out the initial response that flashed in her mind. _I'm from a stasis tank in Deepground. You?_ "Sector 6 slums. " Not quite a lie, since she did come from underground, essentially. "Family worked for Shinra at the time, so we lived local to the headquarters." _Family worked for Shinra… good one, Ri._

"I see. And you're looking for a… brother, I presume?"

"Heh, wasn't aware I was that transparent." Risa scratched her cheek, her expression melancholic for a moment, and nodded. "Yeah, I have a brother who I haven't been able to contact since Omega. I just wanted to make sure he's… " _Dead? Don't lie to yourself Ri, you know he's not. _"… okay."

Tifa smiled. "I know the feeling. When that whole mess happened in Edge with those Remnants, I couldn't find Denzel and Marlene for what seemed like forever." Risa assumed the names referred to the young boy and girl in the photo. "It's not a pleasant thought, know—"

The phone beeped twice and Tifa held a finger up as she flipped it open. "Sec, I think this is our reply."

Risa sat still and tried not to fidget.

"Great! He said he'd be able to meet you tomorrow around 10 pm at this address." Tifa scribbled down the information and handed it to Risa. "Sorry for the late time, but he, uh… " She paused thoughtfully a moment. "He's somewhat eccentric."

Risa blinked, not quite knowing how to respond to that. "Uh, no worries. Probably better so people don't notice us anyways."

Tifa nodded in agreement. "For sure. Can I get you another drink downstairs, or some food?" She was already halfway towards the door as she looked at Risa expectantly.

"Nah, I'm good. Thanks for the beer though. I needed it." She felt less nervous that she did earlier, but was still on a little wary. _Another person to go through. I wish this could be easier. The less involved, the better… for them._ "I'm going to head back to the inn, I think. Thanks for your help, " and she extended her hand towards the dark-haired girl.

"No problem. Good luck, and if you need anything else… beer, wine, food, missing persons found… " She winked at the last part. "Just let me know, okay?" Tifa shook the girl's hand – and gave her a quizzical look. _She seems so familiar…_ "Do I… know you from somewhere?"

Risa looked shocked a moment and quickly snatched her hand back, looking rather apologetic for it. "No, no I don't think so. Unless you've seen me running around Edge." She gave Tifa a quick nod. "Thanks again. I'll keep in touch if I need anything."

Tifa said nothing further, but smiled again. "You're welcome." Once Risa had started heading down towards the bar, she closed the door.

Risa looked at the door a moment, then headed back out towards the street. _She looked like she knew me. Not good… I can't exactly cover materia signature with hair dye. _ She frowned to herself, then made her way back towards the inn. _I wonder who I'm going to meet tomorrow._ _Maybe it'll actually be that Cloud person after all. _Risa snorted. _Knowing my luck, it'll be that brooding guy in the photo with the red eyes. _She shivered to herself and disappeared into the crowd.

* * *

Tifa closed the door and locked it again before she sat down at her desk and reached for her phone. She dialed the name headlining her messages and waited. A deep, masculine voice answered.

"Hello, Tifa."

"Hi Vincent! Thanks for agreeing to this, I really had no idea who to call when she started asking about Cloud."

The phone was silent a moment. "Not a problem. Do you recognize her at all? From either Shinra or Deepground perhaps?"

"No. I've never seen her before in my life, even during the Jenova war. But Vincent, " Tifa's tone changed from concern to curiosity. "I feel like I know her from somewhere, even though I swear I've never met her."

"Hmm." Vincent remained silent again for a moment. "Have you talked to Cloud, yet?"

"No, I'll call him later. I honestly don't think she's going to hurt him, or anyone for that matter – it's just a hunch, but I really do believe she's not out to get anyone, at least not us."

"Alright. I'll see if I can find out anything from Reeve. You said her name was Risa?'"

"Yeah. She didn't give a last name. She's got light brown hair and really, really dark eyes… and Vincent… " Tifa paused and lowered her voice a little. "When I shook her hand, I felt like… well. I was reminded of that feeling you get when you use materia."

Vincent was silent for a few seconds, long enough for Tifa to ask "Vincent?"

"Yeah, sorry." He coughed a little. "I'll mention that to Reeve. We'll see what her true intentions are when I meet her tomorrow night." Another pause. "Take care, Tifa."

Tifa was met with a dialtone before she could reply and she stared thoughtfully at the phone a moment. _Vincent and his quick goodbyes. I hope I'm not sending him into a trap… _ The thought worried her but a moment as she recalled who – or rather what – Vincent was. _I should feel sorry for the one setting the trap, to be honest._

She laughed at herself and made her way back downstairs towards the bar and the steady thrum of customers waiting for a drink. Tomorrow would bring more answers. Or questions.


	3. Curiosity

Risa nearly wore a hole in the floor of her room as she paced back and forth for a good two hours that afternoon. After yesterday's meeting with Tifa, she had become less and less confident that the meeting with this 'friend' of hers was a wise thing to go through with.

_Not like I can't handle myself. But I just don't want to draw any attention if I can help it._

She finally busied herself for the last hour by cleaning the silver sword that was her weapon of choice and checking the various blades and short knives she had tucked in the hidden pockets of her clothing. _Better safe than sorry._

Satisfied that the sword was adequately cleaned, she flicked her wrist and watched the sword collapse into itself until it was nothing but a small dagger the length of her hand. She tucked it into her right boot and checked herself in the mirror.

"Here we go, Ri. Maybe now I can get somewhere."

Risa grabbed the slip of paper with the address on it and made her way out the door, the sense of uneasiness keeping her company as she made her way to the meeting location.

* * *

The young man sat perched atop a stack of crates in the warehouse, silent as midnight as his crimson eyes scouted the vast space to look for anything suspicious or out of place. His right hand rested cautiously on the hilt of a large gun holstered to his side; he tilted his head slightly at a sound, only to settle again as he realized it was only a mouse.

_She should be here soon. _

Vincent shifted a little as he heard the faint sound of someone walking across the damp cement floor. Enhanced hearing had its benefits and it was a full minute before a young woman peered her head from behind a cement column.

_That must be her. _He looked at her a moment, mildly surprised. _ She's not exactly what I expected._

His cape rustled silently as he leapt towards a neighboring stack of crates to get a closer look. _Tifa was right – there's something coming from her, not mako-based like a Remnant, some kind of energy. It's almost like…_ Vincent's eyes widened a split second in surprise: _She's using materia, but without a weapon or a focus. Not sure how, but she is._ His eyes narrowed suspiciously again. _Kadaj and the others could do that. Maybe I'm wro-_

The young girl looked around cautiously only to snap her gaze up towards where he was hiding. Vincent held his breath and stood stone-still, muscles locked as he watched her, waiting for a reaction. _She can't have seen me, _he thought. _Not unless I'm getting careless. _ He took the opportunity to get a better look at her: dark, almost black eyes, very light brown hair, smallish nose and lips – otherwise normal save for that odd aura of something about her. _ She doesn't have mako eyes – well, that knocks out the Remnant theory…_

"Hello? Anyone there?" She narrowed her eyes and peered up towards where he was sitting. "Hello?"

Vincent wasn't quite sure what to do since it seemed like she knew he was there. How, he had no idea, but… _Now's as good a time as any. _ He gathered himself and dropped down from his perch to land directly in front of her, silent save for the metallic rustle of his boots and the gauntlet on his left hand. "Hello."

Risa jumped nearly a foot back as the man suddenly appeared before her, almost out of nowhere. Her hand instinctively reached for her dagger, until she recognized him from the photo at the bar. _Red eyes, metal glove, red cape – great. The broody one. Figures. _"You… you're Tifa's friend? The one I was supposed to meet?"

Vincent didn't miss the quick reaction she made of reaching for some hidden weapon and kept his hand on his gun. "Yes."

Risa stared at him silently for a second only to notice the gun holstered to his thigh. "You won't need that. I'm the person that she mentioned that needed help. I'm Risa."

"I assumed so. Tifa said you were looking for someone."

His deep voice resonated in her, not unpleasant, but a bit disconcerting coming from someone who looked not much older than herself. "Yeah, I am. My brother. He's been missing since that whole mess with Deepground."

Vincent noticed an odd look in her eyes as she mentioned her sibling, but said nothing of it. "You haven't heard anything from him since then?" For now, he ignored the mention of Deepground. _Either she doesn't know about my involvement, or she's pretending she doesn't._

Risa gave him a sour look. "If I did, I wouldn't have required Tifa's – or your – help." She crossed her arms at him and added, "Feel free to introduce yourself, by the way. Unless I'm to just call you 'Hey you' for the rest of the night."

Vincent remained expressionless as he finally removed his hand from his gun. "Vincent."

"Pleasure." She looked at the gauntlet on his arms, the metallic boots, and finally returned her gaze back to his crimson one, but showed no hint of recognition. At least not to him. "So, do you think you'll be able to help me? Cost won't be a concern, I'll pay whatever's necessary. I just need to find him."

"There's no cost. I'm doing this as a favor to Tifa." He leaned back on the stack of crates behind him. "So, does your brother have a name?"

Risa looked away a moment and nodded. "Exedis."

Vincent tapped a clawed finger on his arm. "Exedis. Where and when did you last see him?"

"Last time I saw him…" _Was in a stasis tank… _"Was in the Sector 6 slums, where we lived. About a year ago." A half-lie, since Sector 6 was closest to Reactor 0 and Deepground's former headquarters. Risa looked up at him expectantly.

Vincent continued to watch her, half-listening to her reply as he focused on that sense of power emanating from her. _I can barely feel it, but it seems familiar. And not just because it's materia-related, though Tifa was right in that respect._ He looked her over, trying to find something to clue him in on how she'd done it. _I wonder if it's similar to the protomateria, which would mean implantation… _He bristled slightly at the thought.

"Are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Risa looked at him with an annoyed expression, her hands now on her hips in a somewhat defiant stance. "Stop looking at me like that."

"I heard everything you said perfectly fine." Vincent straightened and took a step forward until he was a foot away from the girl. The energy emanating from the girl seemed to fluctuate with her mood and he wondered, idly, what she'd be like if she were _really_ angry. "It may take a while for me to gather some intel on his whereabouts. Is time a factor?"

Risa took a few steps back as he approached, unsure of what to do. _Why is he staring at me. It makes me want to punch him._ "Sorta. I don't want to wait a year to find him." _Because I can't. Gaea knows what he'd do if he was left to his own devices for a year – Meteorfall would probably seem like a day at the beach in comparison._

Vincent nodded. "Understood. I have some friends in the WRO that might be able to hasten things a bit – will that be an issue?" His eyes remained fixed intently on her, still expressionless, although his mind was a different matter. _Materia implantation. If that's the case, then Shinra's got to be involved with this – or at the least, Fuhito. Or maybe even Hojo. Bastard just won't lie down and die in history, will he._

"Um, no, I don't think so." Risa knew about the World Regenesis Organization and its involvement in keeping what remained of Shinra in check. "I'd prefer to keep this limited to as few people as possible, though. It's just… " She frowned a little.

Vincent tilted his head to the side a bit and simply watched her.

"It's just safer." She didn't elaborate further.

_Safer. Interesting choice of words._ "Fair enough. I'll contact you when I have some information." Vincent turned, leaped up onto the crates, and proceeded to exit the building.

"Wait!" Risa tried to follow him, but he was much faster. _How does he do that?_ "How will I get in touch with you if I need to?" She clambered up onto one crate and stopped, trying to see him in the darkness.

"Don't worry. I'll contact you." The deep voice seemed to come from a shadowy corner near the upper windows. Risa tried to see into the darkness, but saw nothing. After a moment, she realized he was gone.

_Don't worry, I'll contact you. Great. That could be a month for all I know._ She hopped off the crate and followed her route back out of the warehouse. _ Shinra. It always goes back to Shinra._ Risa's head dropped a little as she came the conclusion she'd been trying to avoid since her arrival in Edge.

_Tomorrow. Tomorrow I go to where it all started. Midgard._

* * *

Exedis brushed aside a cobweb as he entered the lower library of Shinra manor. He'd been perusing the volumes of data in the upper labs for a better part of the day before he gave up and decided to try another angle.

_Father was always scrupulous in how he kept his records, especially when keeping them hidden from those Shinra wretches._

He ran a finger along the rows of books, admiring the organized simplicity of the library although he was still frustrated in his lack of success. _Nothing. Nothing but information on Projects G and S. _ He grabbed a book marked 'Genesis: Combat Record 245' and flung it across the room with a yell. _Always second to those Jenova abominations. _Jealousy flared in his eyes as he grabbed another book marked 'Sephiroth: Physical Aptitude Test 7 – Speed' and turned it into ash with a flare of energy. _If it weren't for you, I would be… "_

The book he had thrown had bounced off a picture mounted on the wall across from where he stood, knocking it to the side. Exedis peered at the picture and noticed a shadow behind it. _What the…_

He removed the picture from the wall only to come face-to-face with the heavy, metallic door of a hidden safe. _Hmm. Clever Father, clever._ Exedis didn't know the combination, but he didn't need to; he brought his hand up and a swirl of energy shot out towards the lock, pulverizing it into a pile of dust. The door swung open with a loud creak as he reached in - and found nothing but a metal lever. _Well, what have we here._ He pulled the lever and jumped back with a curse as the floor below him suddenly began to drop down, forming a set of stairs that descended into darkness.

"Interesting…"

He was quite pleased at this new development and shone a flashlight down into the depths below. Without a second thought, he began to descend and eventually disappeared into the darkness with a faint but sinister laugh.

* * *

**_A/N: Short chapter, I know, but the story was begging to be let out again so I had to oblige! _**


	4. Apprehension

_Screams filled the acrid air, a requiem for the small town as fire slowly consumed wood, stone, and flesh alike. Helicopters circled overhead, robotic vultures that used their spotlights to search the alleys and sidestreets for those brave enough to risk an attempt at escape, only to be caught by the four-legged monstrosities that soon followed._

_"C'mon, this way! Hurry!" She waved a small group of battered, dust-covered people towards a dirt path that circled behind a church near the far end of town. "Quietly, but quickly, go go, " she whispered as she glanced beyond the rooftops, hoping they hadn't been followed._

_"Follow the path to the wall – there's a small hole dug beneath it. Go through it and run. Don't look back." Her heart was beating a mile a minute, but she tried to remain calm as she steered the survivors towards their route of escape. She nervously wiped her sweat-soaked palm on her leg, withdrew her pistol, and unlocked the safety. A quick glance was spared to a figure hidden in the shadows across from her position. "Ready?"_

_A young man was crouched about a yard away, his eyes alert and filled with rage – and fear. He carried a double-barreled shotgun, the end of which was pointed down towards the dirt path in the direction from which they had come. "Ready. I think we can give them at least a five minute head start."_

_She nodded with a slight smile in an effort to afford a sense of confidence towards him. "Agreed. Let's backtrack and head ou—"_

_Her words were cut off as she heard a high-pitched whistle coming from the sky. The world seemed to flow in slow-motion as she tried to scream a warning to him to take cover from the missile: her outstretched hand, his figure obscured by a wind-swept cloud of dust, the split-second when everything seemed frozen in time before a bright flash nearly blinded her and she felt her body fly through the air into the smoking remains of the church behind her._

_She couldn't move, even if she wanted to. Her battered body was partially covered by the wood and brick debris of the former church and her vision slowly turned crimson as blood trickled down across her forehead. She tried to call out towards him but the only sound she could manage was a garbled croak; she caught sight of a metallic object on the ground, a gun, the same that he was holding before the missile hit. A shadow floated in front of her - something toed at her shoulder but she felt no pain, instead she struggled to reach for the gun lying a few inches from her broken hand. _

_A sinister laugh broke through the haze of her consciousness: "Still alive I see? Impressive - we'll have use for the likes of you. Take this one."_

_Her world slowly began to darken as death approached, and soon she felt herself fade into nothingness._

* * *

_"You've got a long road ahead of you, but remember this: Never forget who you are."_

The gentle whisper was the last thing Risa remembered when she woke up before sunrise in a haphazard mess of tangled sheets and pillows, one of which had been knocked to the floor along with her phone. _That dream again._ She rubbed her eyes and realized that she must have been crying; she bolted upright and glanced nervously around as if someone had been there to witness her fitful sleep. _It's been a week since I dreamt that. Ever since I came back here to Edge._ She collapsed back onto the bed and stared out the window at the changing colors of the early morning sky.

Risa rubbed her hands across her face and looked back up at the ceiling. _ Probably just my mind playing tricks on me again, no doubt from stress._ Despite her self-diagnosis, she continued to dwell on the images in her mind of the faceless young man and burning rooftops of the small town – unfamiliar images from an unfamiliar life.

A few minutes later, she finally got up and got dressed, all the while replaying the events of last night's meeting with Vincent. _Vincent Valentine. He actually thought I didn't recognize him. _Risa huffed. _ For someone who was supposed to be instrumental in the downfall of Deepground, he was pretty nonchalant about it. Didn't even mention it._ By the time the sun had started to rise, she was ready to head out for some coffee, food, and answers, in that order.

_I wonder why his eyes are red…_

* * *

"No, no… I said over _there_." Reeve Tuesti sighed with exasperation as he ran the fingers of one hand through his hair and shook his head. "If you want something done, do it yourself." The head of the World Regenesis Organization, knee-deep in politics and trying to run an organization still in its infancy, debated which was worse: facing gunfire from Deepground supporters or dealing with paperwork. He snatched the file box marked 'Sector 5 – Water Resources' from the poor recruit's hands and slid it into the cubbyhole of the cabinet marked 'Sector 5.' "Sorry, didn't mean to snap but these files have specific spots for specific reasons…"

The recruit just blinked at Reeve with a nod. He obviously would rather face gunfire.

"Alright, we're done for now, go get some breakfast. Thanks for your help!" Out of guilt for snapping earlier, he tried to appear rather cheerful. The recruit made a hasty retreat.

Reeve rubbed the back of his neck to try and alleviate the fatigue and stress he was feeling as he walked towards the elevator. A few moments later he entered his office on the top floor of the headquarters' building and sank into his chair, hands clasped behind his head as he gazed out through the expanse of windows overlooking Edge and, farther north, the ruins of Midgar. Construction at Edge was proceeding at a rapid pace – the Meteorfall Memorial was complete (again) and some buildings were even approaching the towering height of the WRO skyscraper. Reeve smiled. It was good to see the city slowly return to normal.

_Beep beep beep._ Reeve glanced over his shoulder at his cellphone; apparently he forgot he left it on his desk when he went to help reorganize the city's records. _Beep beep beep._ "Yes, I heard you the first time… " He flipped it open, noted the message-waiting alert, and raised a brow when he saw who it was from. "Valentine? He never messages anyone… " Now he was curious. He scanned the message and frowned slightly.

_Need some info. Meet at the old theater in outer Edge in 2 hours._

_Typical Vincent, mysterious as always._ Reeve checked the time on the phone and proceeded to make a quick call. "Ready one of the smaller cars for departure in about an hour. I need to head to the other side of the city. I'm aware this is shor-" He was cut off by angry yelling on the other end of the phone, something about 'dangerous' and 'not ready' and 'rather be in Costa Del Sol' before he interjected again: "Just get it done?"

The illustrious life of a Jenova war hero.

* * *

It was mid-morning by the time Vincent arrived at the old run-down theater, not because it took long for him to get there, but because he had no real desire to get there in haste. Crowded towns and cities never suited him – he preferred to travel between them instead, keeping quietly to himself and causing as much notice as a passing shadow. However, the events of the past few years had initiated a slight change in him, tempered him even. While long ago he might have preferred to live out life as a stone in the river of time, now he found himself on more than one occasion thinking about the others he had come to call his friends which, in turn, meant more time in cities.

_Thank you again, Lucrecia. For not only helping me to survive, but helping me to… live._ Vincent closed his eyes a moment and inhaled deeply at the memory before letting it go, then continued along the debris-strewn streets of outer Edge in search of the theater.

Déjà vu hit him for a moment as he passed a small alley that afforded a look directly towards Midgar and what remained of Shinra's main headquarters. Vincent glanced up at the sky and recalled the events a year ago that nearly led to the destruction of the Planet; his expression darkened as he continued towards his rendezvous point.

_Maybe it is all finally over. Chaos and Omega have returned to the Lifestream. Shinra is but a shadow of itself, Deepground is all but dissolved, Sephiroth is finally a memory… _His thoughts slowly circled back to the girl, Risa, whom he'd met at the warehouse late last night.

_Why do I feel like there's still something left unfinished?_

* * *

The sun was high above the city by the time Reeve arrived at the old building, noteable for the large, rusted sign that read 'LOVELESS' above the main entryway. He instructed the driver to wait on a sidestreet and proceeded inside, not quite sneezing as dust circled up around him.

"Vincent? You here?" He hadn't taken but a few steps further before the flash of metal and red caught his eye. "Ah, there you are. You need to choose better places to meet," he chided, indicating the dilapidated theater.

The comment drew a small laugh from Vincent. "Sorry, but the local restaurant was closed due to unforseen urban reconstruction." He stepped out from the shadow of the doorway and nodded. "Good to see you Reeve."

Reeve laughed at the small jibe at his former position in charge of urban development when he was an executive at Shinra. "Ah, well, even the most well-thought out plans have their… issues." He settled onto the edge of a theater chair after dusting it off. "Good to see you too, Vincent. So." He fixed his friend with a steady gaze that meant business. "What's this info that you need?"

Vincent leaned against the wall, arms crossed as he explained his situation. "I'm doing a favor for a friend. A girl is looking for her brother, who's been missing about a year." He closed his eyes a moment, then continued. "That puts it around the same time as when Deepground surfaced, or at least right before."

Reeve looked thoughtful, troubled even. "Deepground again. More annoying than a mosquito in Costa del Sol." He rubbed the back of his neck in thought. "It's possible, considering the timeline of things as you described it, and if so, then I fear the worst. You know what happened to everyone they took into the 0 reactor."

"Yeah, I know. I'm not sure she does, though." He sighed and shifted his arms. "There's another issue."

"Oh?"

Vincent thought carefully about how to word this without implying that she was a Remnant. "You know the sensation you get when you use materia in a weapon or focus?"

Reeve nodded. "I do. It's similar to accidentally getting shocked by one of Yuffie's pranks," he joked lightly.

Vincent grunted, amused by that image. "Something like that. When I first saw her, she was giving off that same feeling, like just before a lightning storm. And it got stronger as I approached." He looked up at Reeve, watching his reaction carefully. "However, unlike when we use materia, how we require said weapon or focus – she had none. Or, none that I could see."

"What do you mean? She had to have materia fitted to a weapon, or a piece of clothing or armor…"

"There was no materia visible on her at all."

Reeve rubbed his beard as he considered Vincent's words. He looked up at the gunslinger again. "You're absolutely sure about this?"

Vincent simply sighed. "Yes."

"Interesting… " Reeve closed his eyes a second. "The only thing I can think of that might cause that is if… " He paused and looked up at Vincent. "Materia was somehow implanted into her."

Vincent nodded. "I had the same thought, as much as it turns my stomach." His shoulders dropped just a little as he voiced what Reeve was most likely thinking. "Deepground again. Or even Shinra. Or both."

Reeve nodded. "My thoughts exactly. Although I don't know how they could have managed it. The only successful implantations I know of were Veld's daughter and… " He looked up at his friend with a solemn expression. "You."

Vincent remained quiet for a good minute. _Hojo... _He mentally brushed away the memory of waking up in a basement so many years ago and continued. "Then either way, it ultimately goes back to Shinra."

"Yes. But, " Reeve looked slightly puzzled. "Shinra never sanctioned any research involving materia beyond its use in weaponry, especially after the success of projects G and S, and SOLDIER. All resources were eventually funneled directly into those programs."

"Are you sure about that?"

Reeve gave a small, sheepish cough and smiled. "Absolutely sure. Urban development might not have had access to upper levels of information but I had my ways."

Vincent smiled behind the collar of his cape. "As you still do when it comes to intel." His eyes became serious again. "If that were the case, then what else could explain the materia energy around that girl?"

"I don't know." The WRO leader looked perplexed. "I'm not one for science, but I know someone who is. Shelke will know what to look for, and where."

"I take it she's settled into life at the WRO?" The mention of the young girl gave a slight lift to Vincent's rapidly darkening mood.

"Quite nicely." Reeve smiled as he recalled the changes in the former Tsviet. "In fact, she's almost a spitting image of her sister. Even got herself a pair of glasses in honor of Shalua."

Vincent smiled openly at that. "Good. She deserves a normal life – it's the least we can do after what Deepground put her through, and after what she did to help us." _And me._

"Agreed. I'll meet with her and see what she can find out from digging through Shinra's and Deepground's files. " Reeve stood and dusted off his coat. "I'll call when I have more information."

"Sounds good. Take care Reeve, and tell Shelke I said hello." Vincent gave him a quick nod and disappeared through the doorway.

"I will." Reeve followed him out into the sunlight, but saw no sign of the red-cloaked man. _He's made the act of disappearing an artform, that Vincent._ As if on some invisible cue, his car appeared and he settled inside to make a call. "Shelke. It's Reeve. I need a slight favor."


	5. Annotations

_Materia. Also known as 'crystallized mako,' it manifests itself in mako springs found throughout the planet. This confirms its connections to the Lifestream, specifically in that it is a solidified source of power from the planet itself. We've already proven that it can be used with the help of a weaponized focus, but can it be used in its pure form? No successful demonstrations have yet been observed. My goal is to achieve this by one of two means: infusion of crystallized mako into a host, or direct implantation into a host. Final hypothesis will be forthcoming._

_ - Project M, Prof. Hojo_

Exedis stifled a yawn as he stared at the screen in front of him. His descent into the hidden lab beneath the library had been productive, awe-inspiring even, as he found himself surrounded by some of the notes and observations of the man whom he looked up to as a father. Who _was_ his father, in his mind. Professor Hojo.

"Materia. Where it all began." His fingers tapped rhythmically on the keyboard as he read page upon page of Hojo's work, most of which involved research on the planetary phenomenon known as materia.

_Infusion of crystallized mako was a failure – the host did not last more than a few hours post-procedure. A waste of materia._

Exedis remained unemotional as he continued to read on about further experiments surrounding materia implantation, most of which were nothing more than grisly depictions of procedures and extractions and, eventually, dissection.

_Artifical materia has proven to be inferior to naturally occurring materia; this may prove problematic as the supply of natural materia is in short supply. Degradation of artificial materia begins a few hours post-mortem, while natural materia does not seem to suffer the same result._

He groaned as he skimmed past the in-depth explanations of the differences between artificial and natural materia, a rather boring subject for the young man. Exedis skipped ahead towards the end of the section.

_Materia implantation is proving more difficult than I thought. The procedure itself is simplistic in nature, but the host seems to reject the materia a few days later at a rate of practically 100%. It is hypothesized that the extreme amount of energy residing within the materia overpowers the host's cellular structure to the point of degredation, despite efforts to maintain host stability. Subject 'Felicia' was eventually a 'success', but not with desired results – she too began to show signs of degradation, and the final determination was failure. Subject was ultimately disposed of. See subsection titled 'Subject Felicia.'_

Exedis perked up at the word 'success,' but settled his chin in his hand again as he realized the experiment was ultimately a failure. _Failures are of no use to me._ He continued to read more until he came to an entry that caused his eyes to flare white with anger.

_Project M given secondary priority due to unexpected success with Project S. All resources will be focused on the continued success and observation of Project S, herein known as Sephiroth. The epitome of my life's work, finally made flesh._

Exedis growled. He shoved his chair back as he stood and pounded a fist into the table, furious at the entry. "That abomination. He should never have been born. " The room began to grow cold as the materia energy around him began to fluctuate. With great effort, he managed to stifle the raw, dark energy that was threatening to tear the room down around him and typed another entry into the terminal.

_Lucrecia Crescent._

Surprisingly, a list of experiments and theses appeared, one of which caught his eye.

_The Omega/Chaos Theory._

Exedis remembered his father telling him about Omega and Chaos, and how one of his scientists had successfully implanted the Chaos gene into a human subject. He failed to mention that it was one of the scientists that Exedis despised the most since she was the mother of Sephiroth. Curious, he selected the thesis and began to read.

_The decay of flesh has been stopped, thank Gaea, but I'm afraid the toll on Vincent is more than I could ever have imagined. Chaos is strong, too strong, and I am afraid it will be a fate worse than death for him, this thing I have done. I have saved him, but I have also condemned him. Vincent, I'm so sorry._

He made a small noise at the relatively emotional entry in what should otherwise have been a scientific record of her work. Still, he was interested in the phrase 'decay of flesh has been stopped,' and continued to read. What he read next set him in for a bit of a shock.

_I've done it. I've managed to implant the protomateria into Vincent's chest, which is giving him control over Chaos. I don't know why, but this protomateria seems to allow him to keep Chaos in check; its as if the planet knew what would happen should Chaos be let loose upon the world prematurely. I know I shouldn't have used the Chaos gene to save him but… I had to. Becau_

The entry ended abruptly and Exedis sat back into his chair, a bit surprised at what he just read. _So. The bitch was responsible for a successful implantation of materia into a human. Even if he did possess the Chaos gene, he was a success. Who is this success. _ He dug further into the records and finally came up with a name.

_Vincent Valentine._

Exedis' eyes narrowed. _Him. The one who killed Weiss. And Father. _His expression grew even colder. _How convenient. Once I'm done with her, I'll get my revenge on him. Kill two annoying little birds with one stone. Amaria was right._

And as if on cue, Amaria appeared from the stairs behind him, her shoes heralding her arrival with a soft, repetitive click on the stone. "Exedis? So this is where you've been hiding." She slid into an empty chair and tucked one leg beneath the other as she spun idly, looking around. "I see you've found what you've been looking for?"

"Yes, I have. For the most part." He gave her a deceptively innocent smile and waved towards the terminals and two tanks placed throughout the large room. "Seems like Father had a private research lab, one untouched by Shinra.

Amaria's eyes narrowed with delight as she fiddled with a small arrow. "I told you, everything you need is right here." She leaned forward and tapped the screen with the arrow's head. "What did you find?"

Exedis glanced back towards the monitor. "Father's notes on most of his research, even the non-sanctioned ones. I also found the research notes of his subordinates, whom I suspect he kept tabs on without their knowledge."

"I see. Then you've found info as to how you came to possess the black materia?"

"Almost. I still have much to read, much to learn. There is so much information here, even if it was cut short prematurely." Exedis' scowl returned, but only briefly. "I also found some interesting information on Deepground's enemy, namely the one that bore Chaos and destroyed Omega."

Amaria bristled. "The one that Weiss had us looking for? Shelke's little project that possessed the protomateria?" She hissed out the former Tsviet's name with distaste.

"Yes. Vincent Valentine."

Her yellow eyes flared with rage at the mention of the name. Amaria snapped the arrow in her hands in two as she quietly said "Good. Then I will be able to payback what he did to Rosso. " Her eyes narrowed further. "Only this time, he'll have wished that explosion had killed him once I'm finished with him."

Exedis knew he'd hit a sore spot. _Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned…_

"Temper, Amaria. It doesn't suit your pretty features." Exedis was slightly amused at her sudden outburst of anger. "Besides, all in due time. Once I have the white materia in my possession, you may do what you wish with the gunslinger."

Amaria growled, but slowly regained her composure. A faint smile reappeared as she toyed with a strand of hair and thought of all the lovely ways she would make Vincent Valentine suffer for the death of her beloved sister.

Exedis smiled. "You'll have your chance, don't worry. For now, though, I need you to do something. I need you to go to Midgar."

Amaria glanced towards him. "Midgar?"

He nodded. "I want you to go back to what is left of Deepground Headquarters, beneath it, beneath Reactor Zero. The lab where she was kept in stasis is there. I want you to gather any remaining data and any other evidence of interest and return it to me." Exedis tapped the screen. "That, together with what Father recorded here, should provide me with the last few pieces of the puzzle that I need to get her materia."

"Deepground is all but destroyed – there will be a dozen and a half WRO soldiers crawling the area." Amaria's expression suddenly turned wicked. Very wicked. "On second thought, I haven't had a good bit of target practice in a while…"

Exedis gave her a knowing look. "I knew you couldn't turn down a chance to exact revenge upon the WRO. Take the airship to Midgar, I won't need it since I'll be here anyway. Try not to make too much of a scene. Or a mess."

The Tsviet nodded and lightly ran her finger along his jawline on her way towards the stairs. "As you wish, my love. This shall be fun." Her laugh echoed down from the stairwell, a chilling sound that set even Exedis' hairs on end.

"Now, Dr. Crescent, where were we... "

* * *

Risa had decided it would be best to make her way into Midgar center on foot, so when she arrived she parked her motorcycle on the outskirts of Sector 6 near an old abandoned vehicle depot. She slid her sunglasses atop her head and scanned the ruins, feeling a chill run through her despite the unusually warm October day.

_Who'd have thought I would wind up back here, of all places._

She double-checked the dagger in her boot, set the bio-lock on her cycle, and took a deep breath. For a moment, Risa closed her eyes and recalled the day a year ago, when she first came to beneath the ruins of Reactor Zero:

_Cold. Darkness. Something dug into her left ribcage, more annoyance than pain._

_Sounds, from above. Muffled, as if they were far away; human voices, yelling, the groan of metal being dragged across stone, or vice versa – she couldn't tell. _

_She slowly opened one eye, then the other, her vision still dulled by the drug-induced haze of having been in a stasis tank for… _How long? How long was I asleep?

_Mild panic set in, though that only caused a headache to begin to throb between her temples. Risa tried to slow her breathing down as she glanced around, her vision slowly clearing as her body cleared whatever sedative remained in her system. _I'm still in Deepground, but… what the?

_Risa gently pushed herself away from the side of the tank and realized a portion of the metal had bent, which was what had been digging into her side when she awoke. She tried to get a sense of her surroundings, but the cracked glass afforded no opportunity for such, so she resigned to giving the door a good hard shove and finally fell out of the stasis tank onto the cold, tile floor._

_What Risa saw next almost put her in a state of shock._

_A good portion of the lab had completely collapsed leaving nothing but piles of rubble and jagged pieces of metal in its wake. The computer terminals were demolished, save for 2, and part of the floor was covered in a few inches of mako-tinged water._

_Risa couldn't speak. She simply sat on her knees with her mouth slightly open, trying to comprehend that the lab used by Deepground was utterly destroyed, and she had almost been destroyed with it._

_The sounds from above came again, a little louder, which put Risa into another emotional state: fear. What if she was found? Would they help her? Or shoot her? Was it Deepground? Or someone else? Her heart began to beat rapidly as she looked up towards what once had been the ceiling and her eyes found a small hole that had opened to the sky._

_Small, iridescent green motes began to appear, drifting into the room like snow from the night above._

_Risa inched back to try and hide herself from the otherworldly snowfall, but to no avail – it was everywhere. A mote settled onto her cheek, then her hair, her arms, legs – she tried to brush it off but it was a futile effort. Eventually the motes covered her and slowly began to disappear into her skin and clothes. She grimaced, expecting pain – but instead she began to feel a gentle warmth, as if she were standing beneath the midafternoon sun on a cloudless day. _

_Realization hit her: this was Lifestream. Lifestream was falling from the sky. It drifted through the air and settled onto the water, the floor, the stone and metal – and her. _

_'It's okay. You're alright now. But you have to go, you have to run. For just a little bit. But hurry. Before they find you.'_

_The voice she heard scared Risa out of her wits and it took effort for her not to yelp out loud. She looked around, wide-eyed with fright, as she thought she heard someone tell her to run. _ _"H-hello?" she whispered. No sound was heard except the rapid gallop of her heart beating a mile a minute._

_Dust began to trickle down from the hole as the voices got closer, and Risa realized she had no choice. She had to listen._

_She had to run._

Risa opened her eyes and shivered despite the sun's warmth. Even after a year, the memory still gave her an unpleasant feeling. The pain, the loneliness, the eventual realization that she was left with a task that she alone had to complete. _My burden. Mine alone. But I will finish what was started, and it will end with me._

Risa straightened herself with renewed determination and slid her sunglasses back down onto her face. She gave a final tug to her jacket and slowly began to make her way through the ruins to the former headquarters of the Shinra Electric Company


	6. Pendulum

The years since Meteorfall had taken its toll on the Shinra Company's facility, which forced Risa to use extra caution as she finally made her way into the main building at the center of Midgar. Her journey in and of itself was uneventful, save for a stray cat that startled Risa into nearly decapitating it. Nine lives or not, the cat was unfazed. Risa was not.

_My nerves are on edge. I need to relax._

After a good twenty minutes of picking through bits of stone and metal, she managed her way into the building and was surprised to see the interior corridor relatively intact. Risa weaved her way through broken doorways and crumbling stairs as she headed further down into the depths towards the underground elevator shaft that led to the entrance to Deepground.

The elevator platform itself was completely destroyed, but otherwise the vast space still allowed access to the depths below. Risa began the long, arduous climb down along the stairway that spiraled against the wall; a few instances she had to rely on luck and a bit of nerve to leap over gaps in the stairway, but eventually she found herself standing outside the looming entrance that led to Deepground. As she began to head towards the sector that housed the labs and medical rooms, the faint memories of her time here began to intrude on her thoughts, memories that were not always pleasant.

_"Weak."_

_Exedis mocked her with a blatant, handsome smile as he jumped back from the center of the room, the sword in his hand now blessed with a few drops of blood. "If you're going to let me cut you, you may as well let me kill you, Chimera."_

_Her eyes narrowed with anger as she wiped the back of her hand against her cheek and pulled it away, scowling at the smear of blood that now stained it. Chimera shrugged her shoulders and resettled the sword in her own hand as she stared him down. "That wouldn't be as much fun. Besides, this is just a warm up." Her own smile matched his in ferocity as she crouched for a split second and shot towards him, sword held at an angle in front of her._

_"No, it wouldn't be as much fun. I'd rather kill you slowly, if that were my goal." Exedis' eyes widened as he suddenly found himself face to face with her sword and barely leaped back in time to avoid a full-on slash across his chest, but not fast enough to avoid the feel of cold steel across his arm. "Tch. You were lucky."_

_Chimera smiled as she examined the reddened tip of her weapon. "If that's so, then may luck be on my side for the rest of the day. Sorry for the wound though." She waved her sword towards his arm. "At least it won't leave a scar, eh?" _

_Exedis grunted as he nodded towards her own wound, which had already completely healed. "Likewise. I wouldn't want to mar that pretty face of yours, my dear." _

_The two continued to spar within the training room located in the militia sector, a high level facility reserved only for the strongest soldiers of Deepground. Training had intensified for both Chimera and Exedis in the past few weeks, as they were soon to be initiated into the elite division known as the Tsviets._

_Tsviets. The word in and of itself was enough to strike fear even in Deepground's own soldiers. Genetically enhanced for both combat and intellect using the genes of the former SOLDIER Genesis Rhapsodos, they were created purely for death and destruction in the pursuit of Deepground's ambitions. To be initiated into this division was considered the ultimate accolade among Deepground's military ranks._

_"You missed." Chimera's wicked laugh rang out in the metal clad room, a musical taunt to Exedis as he swung his blade towards her neck and hit nothing but air. "You're slowing down. Perhaps your sword is too heavy? We could get a lighter one from the weapons barracks, made of wood?"_

_"Bitch." Exedis growled as he readied himself to launch another attack towards her, only to be interrupted as a flashing red light near the doorway indicated that their time was up. "Again. You are lucky. Next time," he hissed. "Not so much."_

_Chimera sheathed her sword and nodded towards the young man. "Luck or not, you have to admit. We were made for this."_

_"Those words are too true, Chi. " Exedis closed his eyes and calmed himself, then brushed a sweat-soaked strand of hair from his eyes. "It was only a matter of time before we became Tsviets. I'm pretty sure they wanted to make sure our talents were fully developed." He flashed her a sinister grin. "And that our body count tallies were high enough."_

_Chimera matched his grin with one of her own. "Pretty sure I'm one body ahead of you, by the way."_

_"Lies."_

_"Truth. I'll show you the tally book when we get back to our quarters."_

_Exedis and Chimera continued their morbid discussion of body counts and who's wounds healed fastest as they made their way out of the training room._

Risa shook herself back into reality as she finally arrived at the entrance to the medical sector. The damage was particularly bad here, and she had to use extra caution as she made her way towards the rear of the hallway, where the largest lab was located. Or, what was left of it.

She climbed over a bent, rusted door and hopped over an overturned chair as she entered the lab, catching her thigh on a jagged piece of metal in the process. "Dammit. I just bought these too." Blood began to seep down Risa's leg but she continued on, ignoring the pain. Soon enough, the wound began to heal; a few minutes later, the only indication she had been injured was the jagged, bloodstained rip in her trousers.

Risa paused to take a good look at the room, a place she hadn't seen since the time she had woken from her slumber after the Omega explosion. Her expression became grim as her eyes paused momentarily on the stasis tank still lying in the corner; the water had receded long ago, but hints of mako still cast a slight green tinge along the rear corners of the walls.

She picked her way slowly along the edges of the room, upending a few random tables and checking drawers and file cabinets, searching for any evidence of the heinous research that had occurred here so long ago. A few folders looked promising – these she tucked into her backpack to be examined later. Others were nothing more than daily observations of the mental status of Deepground's army, necessary to ensure that the men and women forced into servitude were kept under submission.

Risa made her way towards one of the two remaining intact data terminals; she knew the effort was futile, but she flicked the power switch anyway, not really expecting any life from the computer's screen. She knelt to examine the data server and, to her surprise, she found a memory disk in one of the drive bays, still intact. And, she hoped, readable. She used her dagger to force the drive out of the server and tucked it away.

Satisfied with her take, she stood up to head out of the lab when something caught her eye near the stasis tank. Risa hesitated, but eventually made her way towards the metal prison that she had been trapped in for months prior to her unexpected release.

Risa paused, then trailed her fingertips along the shattered glass, tracing the spidery cracks until she gripped the door and pried it open further. The inside was just as empty as she'd left it – that is, until she spotted something out of place at the bottom of the tank.

Risa reached in and grasped the shiny, silvery object, which turned out to be some sort of bracelet. As she examined it closely, she gasped with surprise – it was an identification bracelet, the one given to her when she had agreed to become part of an experiment, an experiment that would forever alter her future.

_"You and Exedis are the strongest among us. While I know you were looking forward to joining the Tsviets, I believe your skills and talents have the potential to surpass even theirs, if you are willing to take the risk."_

_Chimera looked at Exedis thoughtfully. Joining the Tsviets had been their penultimate goal; it was the reason they trained endlessly, why they went on endless sorties and fought countless battles against Deepground's many foes. _

_Exedis met her look, then glanced back up at the white-haired man that stood before them. "The risk for partaking in this experiment is… death?"_

_"I wouldn't call it death," he replied nonchalantly. "More like… contributing to the greatness of Deepground." The white-haired man pointed first at Exedis, then at Chimera. "More importantly, your success would cement your place in the history of our great organization, as being the first. The first," and he leaned in closer. "Materia-born."_

_Chimera's eyes widened at the name. She leaned over to Exedis and whispered excitedly in his ear; he in turn looked back at her and nodded. Her eyes met the white-haired man's as she gave their assent. "Exedis and I agree. We would be honored to partake in this experiment, Weiss."_

Risa grasped the bracelet tightly and went to throw it, but then changed her mind. She looked at the innocuous piece of jewelry in her hand. _Even the past has its place in my future._ She tucked it into a pocket on her jacket, turned, and made her way out of the lab without looking back.

* * *

"Disgusting."

Amaria's expression was one of distaste as she picked her way through the mess of Shinra's headquarters on her way towards Deepground. She barked out orders to the former Deepground soldiers that accompanied her, instructing them to clear a path through the rubble. "I don't want to see any corpses in front of me unless I am the one who put them there."

She stood on the landing of the stairs that led down into the depths of the elevator shaft, arms crossed as she watched the soldiers move forward. "If anything moves, shoot it. Unless it wears a WRO uniform." Amaria smiled. "Those, you are to leave for me."

The Tsviet's expectations of encountering any entertainment in the form of WRO soldiers had not been met as of yet; they didn't come across a single soul save for a lone, emaciated rat looking for food amidst the stone and metal rubble. As such, she was getting rather bored. Information gathering was not one of her fortes. Wreaking havoc and raining death upon her enemies was.

Nonetheless, Amaria still kept her guard up as she descended towards the depths of the cavernous shaft. She cocked the crossbow on her arm and loaded an explosive-tipped arrow into the weapon; usually she preferred to be more subtle, but the less time she had to spend in this wasteland, the better.

"Sir, here." One of the soldiers waved her down and pointed the light on his rifle towards the handrail.

Amaria made her way towards the soldier and examined the handrail with bright, yellow eyes. Dust had settled in a thick, heavy layer on nearly every surface around them, which meant it was a perfect indicator of whether someone had passed that way. Sure enough, the dust had been swiped off the rail as if someone had walked by and absently run their hand along the surface.

"Looks like we might have some fun after all, gentlemen." Amaria straightened and continued down the stairs ahead of the men with renewed interest. "Stay on your guard. It might just be WRO." _Or it might be that wretched group from Omega._ The thought made her smile slightly.

They had almost arrived at the entrance when Amaria's ears perked at a noise echoing from the ominous doorway. She held her fist up and signaled the soldiers to stop as she paused, leaning one ear towards the sound.

A cellphone was ringing.

_That means we have company._ Amaria narrowed her eyes and signaled two soldiers behind her to follow as she moved forward to investigate. She signaled them to freeze again as a feminine voice answered the phone. _A girl?_ She tried to make out the conversation but it was too faint, so she simply waited. This was the only exit out of Deepground - sooner or later, the girl had to come this way.

Amaria refitted her crossbow with a poison-tipped arrow and aimed it towards the entrance. The trap was set: now, she simply had to wait. And she had all the time in the world to do so.

* * *

Risa could just make out the silhouette of the exit ahead as she crept along the large hallway leading out of Deepground. Her thoughts were still focused somewhat on what she found in the medical lab, so she nearly jumped out of her skin when her phone rang and shocked her back to where she was.

"Hello?"

"Risa." The distinct, deep voice settled her a bit as she recognized who it was.

"Vincent." She cracked a smile as she continued. "I almost thought you'd forgotten about our deal."

Risa thought she heard a small huff of annoyance from the other end, but it could have been the static through her connection. "On the contrary, I've been able to find information that might be of interest to you. Are you able to meet me at WRO headquarters?"

She continued to make her way towards the exit as she spoke. "Yeah, I'm almost out of… " Risa paused. _Better not tell him I've been digging through the wreckage of Deepground. Gaea knows what conclusions he'll make._ "Fuel. I just have to refuel my cycle and grab something to eat. I can meet you there in a couple of hours?"

Vincent said nothing for a few seconds and Risa began to worry he had seen through her façade. "That will be fine. The building's security will expect your arrival – I'll escort you once you get there."

Risa managed not to breathe an outward sigh of relief. "Sounds good. I'll see you ther— " Her reply was cut off with a dialtone. _That bastard actually hung up on me?_ She cursed him silently and rounded the corner.

The high-pitched whistle of something flying through the air was the only warning she had as she found herself staring at the head of an arrow headed straight towards her chest.

* * *

_**A/N: Chapters coming fast and furious! This is what happens when I have time off from work. :) Lucky you!**_


	7. Reverberation

It was early afternoon before Reeve finally made his way to the lower levels of the World Regenesis Organization's headquarters where the research division was located. After he had briefed Shelke about what Vincent had told him, she had assured Reeve that she would be able to locate some information from Shinra's old biomedical research records.

The elevator chimed as the doors opened and he found himself face to face with a young, red-haired girl wearing a pair of thin wire-frame glasses and a badge that read 'Shelke Rui, Head of Biomedical & Technology, WRO.'

Reeve blinked. The uncanny resemblance between Shelke and her older sister and former department head, Shalua Rui, never ceased to amaze him. They looked even more alike now that Shelke had managed to wean herself down from the daily mako treatments to a mere once a month; the result was that her body had finally begun to catch up to her actual age so that she no longer perpetually looked like a nine-year old.

"Mr. Tuesti. Welcome." Shelke spoke with her usual formality despite Reeve's constant insistence that it was unnecessary.

"Hello again Shelke." He nodded towards her and they both began to walk towards the back of the large main laboratory to Shelke's personal one. "I appreciate your help in this, especially since it was on rather short notice."

Shelke glanced over at him and smiled. "Of course, Mr. Tuesti. It was of no trouble at all, in fact." She paused before a metal door and stared into a retinal scanner; a few seconds later the door swooshed open and she gestured for Reeve to enter. "We'll discuss this here, where it's more private. I think you would agree once I reveal the sensitivity of the information I found, that discreetness will be necessary."

Reeve gave her a curious look over his shoulder. "Sensitivity?"

Shelke nodded. "I was able to retrieve a significant amount of data in answer to your question. However, " and she settled herself in front of a large terminal located on one side of the room. "The information was locked behind some of the highest levels of Shinra security that I have seen in a while." She pulled a chair beside her and indicated for him to sit. "This will take a moment."

Reeve settled himself and looked thoughtful. "Should we have Vincent present in that case? He is the one that actually asked me for help in this matter, and I wouldn't want you to have to repeat everything again."

"I'm already here."

Reeve jumped at the deep voice that emanated from the rear corner of the room. "Dammit Vincent, I told you not to do that anymore. You're going to give me a heart attack."

Vincent smiled behind his collar as he gave Shelke a knowing look; apparently, she had known he had been there all along but went along with the game. Reeve looked perturbed. "You too, Shelke?"

The young girl simply smiled and busied herself by tapping away at the keyboard.

Reeve shook his head and leaned back in his chair. A year ago, if anyone told him he would be the target of a mutual joke from Vincent Valentine and Shelke Rui, he would have ordered them to be examined by a psychiatrist. The thought drew a laugh from him. Times had changed indeed.

Shelke continued to work at a feverish pace on her keyboard until the terminal coughed out a few beeps; the room darkened and a projection screen scrolled down from the ceiling. "As you know, Reeve asked me to look into Shinra's records for any information regarding your acquaintance, the young girl with the materia signature."

A mirror image of the information on Shelke's computer terminal appeared on the screen, enlarged so that Reeve and Vincent might see it more easily. The symbol for the Shinra Electric Company appeared briefly, followed by slowly scrolling lines of text.

"Logic would dictate that, of course, the first thing I search for would be anything related to materia within Shinra's records. As you could imagine, it was a large amount of data, as Shinra had devoted quite a bit of military research funding towards materia development, prior to the SOLDIER program."

Images of various types of materia, both natural and artificial, began to appear on the screen. Vincent's eyes narrowed as an image of protomateria flashed by, but he said nothing.

"Once Shinra had managed to successfully streamline the process of creating artificial materia, they looked for ways to use it more efficiently. At first, " Shelke paused, then selected another entry under 'Weapons Development.' "They developed ways to use materia by inserting it into various weapons, with great success as we are all aware of."

More images flashed by of various guns, shurikens, and daggers, all outfitted with different types of materia. Shelke scrolled forward towards the next section, titled 'Biological Development.' She paused and leaned back in her chair.

"The weapons development was common knowledge, obviously, since Shinra had been using such weapons for decades. However, when I tried to examine the information under 'Biological Development,' I abruptly hit a dozen firewalls." She frowned and tapped the screen with a pen. "In fact, I had to resort to SND in order to bypass the security measures and access the data."

SND, or synaptic net dive, had been Shelke's specialty when she was a member of the Tsviets. The procedure allowed her to project a digital image of herself into the World Wide Network, allowing her to penetrate the subconscious of individuals tied into the network as well as giving her the ability to easily bypass a number of otherwise impenetrable security measures. The procedure was not without its risks, however, as she stood the chance of losing her mental stability within the virtual network.

Reeve and Vincent understood these risks and as such, they were even more intrigued at how well this data had been hidden and the extent to which Shinra had gone to protect it from prying eyes.

Shelke paused to look at Reeve as she pushed her glasses back up onto her nose. "Mr. Tuesti, have you ever heard of something in Shinra's research division called 'Project M?'"

The WRO leader blinked a moment, only to widen his eyes with recognition. "Project M… but that was shut down years ago!" Two sets of eyes focused intently on him. He looked from Shelke to Vincent, then back to Shelke. "It… it was a project run by Shinra, although… " Reeve looked back over to Vincent, somewhat sheepishly. "It had been closed down in order to fund all resources into SOLDIER."

Vincent crossed his arms and drummed his fingertips on his gauntlet as he thought back to their earlier conversation in the old theater, all the while watching Reeve carefully. "Well. It looks like that actually wasn't the case, now does it."

Shelke watched the interchange between the WRO leader and the ex-Turk rather carefully, but said nothing. Instead, she pulled up a large file regarding Project M. "Mr. Tuesti is partially right in that it was never fully sanctioned by Shinra because of their focus on the SOLDIER program, particularly Projects G and S. Judging by the amount of data present, however, " and she clicked through a few more files. "Someone continued to work on Project M, even if it was outside of Shinra's knowledge."

"Someone?" Reeve and Vincent both looked at Shelke and asked the question in unison.

"Yes." Shelke nodded and pointed towards an entry on the screen. "Professor Hojo and his associates which, " she looked over at Vincent with some hesitation. "Included Dr. Crescent."

Vincent paled slightly, or he would have if he weren't pale enough already. _Lucrecia…_

After a moment, she continued. "Professor Hojo continued his research on materia use in a biological capacity by performing tests on dozens of subjects. Initially he attempted to liquefy the materia and injected it into the host subject, but the end result was death in a matter of hours."

Now it was Reeve's turn to look pale. "Dozens… how many people died in the name of that madman's search for scientific perfection?"

Vincent quietly spoke, though his tone implied a slowly simmering level of anger hidden beneath his dark red gaze. "Too many."

Shelke continued. "When that failed, he decided to directly implant the materia into the bodies of his subjects, hoping that a sort of symbiotic relationship would develop between materia and host. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case." She paused and nodded. "This is where the 'official' entries under the umbrella of Shinra Corporation end."

Reeve looked up and noticed the date on the computer screen. "That would make sense, since that is around the time the SOLDIER program took off exponentially, starting with Sephiroth."

Shelke smiled. "You are correct. However, when I finished with Shinra's main bioresearch records, I decided to delve further into the private projects of the individual scientists." The screen blinked twice, only to bring up an image of a sideways figure-eight with a horizontal line drawn through it. "Do either of you recognize this symbol?"

Vincent looked up and shook his head, as did Reeve.

"You wouldn't have. It's the symbol of Project M under Professor Hojo's private research files. Although Shinra no longer funded his work, he continued, particularly after the success that Dr. Crescent achieved with you, Vincent." Shelke turned to look at the gunslinger, who had remained quieter than normal in the corner.

"Hmph. Success." His eyes unfocused slightly as he remembered his second encounter with the Tsviet, Rosso the Crimson, who had violently extracted the protomateria from his chest and practically left him for dead. If he was capable of death, that is.

Shelke watched him carefully. "Yes. You were the first truly successful subject for materia implantation. Although, " and she turned back to the computer terminal. "It was primarily due to the enhancements Professor Hojo had performed on your physiology, which made you practically indestructible."

Reeve had been silent this whole time, but something was tickling the back of his mind. "Shelke, you said Vincent was the first truly successful… person." He nodded towards the corner where Vincent stood, looking rather grim. "Does that mean there were others?"

She remained silent a moment. "Yes."

Vincent shot his attention towards Shelke about the same time Reeve did. Reeve asked first. "How many?"

"Only two, as far as I'm aware of. I managed to find their files, but that was only because I decided to dig around Deepground's files, on a hunch." Shelke grinned at her ingenuity. "Not everything can be based on logic alone it seems."

The screen flickered to life again before an image of two soldiers dressed in high-ranking Deepground uniforms were brought up. One was a young man with longish, straight dark hair and bright blue eyes – the other caused Vincent to emerge from his corner with a somewhat shocked expression. "Are those right?"

Shelke and Reeve both looked at Vincent, curious at his reaction. "Indeed," she replied. "Why?"

He studied the young woman's features, though he didn't need to – he had encountered their living persona the other night in the warehouse. "Because that's the girl who Tifa asked me to meet the other night."

Shelke looked slightly taken back. "Are you sure?"

Vincent nodded though his eyes never left the screen. "I'm positive. She said her name was Risa, or at least that's what she told me." _Whether that is the truth or not, now I'm not so sure. Nothing is beginning to seem what it is._

Shelke looked at Reeve, then continued to scan through the records. "According to this, her name within Deepground was Chimera, and the young man is named…"

"Exedis." Vincent finished the sentence as he resumed his position leaning against the wall. "That's the name she gave me when she said she was looking for someone." _It's beginning to make sense now._

She nodded. "Correct. They were the top-ranking soldiers in Deepground, and were slated to join the Tsviets once the proper arrangements could be made. However, the records indicate that instead they were chosen to participate in the materia project that Weiss decided to resurrect prior to the Omega incident."

Reeve rubbed his beard thoughtfully. "I'm assuming it was to perfect the procedure needed to properly use the protomateria to control Omega, once he got his hands on it."

Shelke nodded. "Correct again. Although at this point, he had already performed numerous experiments on implantation with limited success. By combining Professor Hojo's data on materia usage and physiologic enhancement along with Dr. Crescent's success with the protomateria, he began to create viable subjects that used materia, internally."

The screen flickered again before two materia appeared on the screen, one black and one white. "Do you know what these are?"

Both Reeve and Vincent nodded, though it was Vincent that answered this time. "The black and white materia, from Meteorfall."

"Yes. Well, it seems that Weiss found them."

Vincent lifted a brow. "I thought they were destroyed with Meteorfall?"

"Apparently not." Shelke brought up a map of the planet and pointed towards the Northern Cave. "A few months after Meteorfall, Deepground agents were sent up to the crater to look for signs of anything worthwhile – and they found it. Namely, the black materia, intact and perfectly viable."

The thought made Reeve's stomach churn. "If the planet were to ever be hit with another Meteorfall…"

"I'd rather not think about it." Shelke pointed towards the Forgotten City and its surrounding forests. "Here is where the white materia was found."

Vincent stared intently at the location. "That is where Cloud took Aeris the day she died." _A grim, dark day that was. For all of us._

"If that is the case, then that explains why the white materia was found there, as records indicate she was its carrier and used it to summon the protection known as Holy." Shelke scrolled forward and again pointed towards the screen. "And this, gentlemen, is why Deepground were so persistent in their efforts."

Reeve leaned forward, mouth slightly agape as he read the information. Vincent remained expressionless.

_Alpha-level soldiers Exedis and Chimera were both implanted with the materia with 100% success. Exedis received the black materia and Chimera the white materia; after only 3 days, both have managed full recovery from the procedure. Part of this may be attributed to their physiological enhancements, part may be attributed to the presence of the materia – the latter is unknown at this time. Testing will begin shortly to determine physical and mental skills._

"So. Deepground managed to succeed with Project M." Reeve leaned back in his chair and breathed a heavy sigh. "This is not good."

Something was bothering Vincent. While he knew for a fact that the data presented was true, something troubled him about the girl, Risa – or Chimera, as she was once known. "Shelke, from what you remember while in Deepground, weren't the soldiers, particularly the Tsviets, conditioned to be killers from the start, with no remorse whatsoever?"

Shelke nodded. "Yes. The Tsviets in particular had no qualms about taking a life, and in fact enjoyed it. I was the exception, but that was mostly because my primary goal was data collection, not battle."

"Then why… " Vincent's boots rustled softly as he rounded the table to get a closer look at the projected image of the young girl on the screen. "Why did this girl come across as nothing like the cold-blooded killer she was conditioned to be? In fact, she was quite the opposite, as far as I remember."

Shelke glanced at the two men and shrugged. "I'm not sure. Although that would explain this entry." She pulled up one of the final entries posted a few weeks prior to the Deepground war.

_Chimera's performance has slowly degraded since the materia procedure. Her kill tallies are well below Exedis'; in fact, they are well below the gamma-level recruits we currently have. Her intellect and skills themselves have not been affected – in fact, they continue to strengthen on a daily basis – but it seems her conscience has begun to take a more prominent role in her actions despite the conditioning she has received. We are unsure if this is simply a result of immunity to the conditioning treatment, or if it is a direct result of the nature of her materia. If the decline continues, we will be forced to terminate her for further examination._

_Exedis, on the contrary, shows no such decline since his procedure. _

"Hm." Reeve glanced over at Vincent. "You said you agreed to help her find her brother, and I assume that would mean she is expecting to hear from you with any word?"

Vincent nodded slowly. "Yes. I told her I would contact her once I had more information."

Reeve stood up and nodded. "Then do so. I think this would be a good opportunity to question her, and find out what her true motives are. We can't afford to have someone like her running rampant throughout the city, especially if this Exedis person is also alive." He crossed his arms as he began to devise a plan of action. "Tell her to meet us here. That way we'll be able to apprehend her with force if need be."

Vincent glanced up at him with a wary expression. "Reeve. The last thing we want to do is scare her off. I have a feeling if she wanted to disappear she could, and who knows when we'd be able to find her again."

Reeve laughed and held up his hands. "Don't worry, Vincent. It's not as if I planned on having a firing squad greet her at the door." His expression became somber again. "However, it is my job to protect this city, and I will do so with whatever means necessary."

"Judging from my encounter with her, I doubt you'll have anything to worry about. " He rested his hand on the gun holstered to his thigh as he thought a moment. "Why don't I meet her instead, and bring her up to your office. That way we won't spook her, and in a worse-case scenario, well… " Vincent tapped his gun.

"That works. Shelke, " Reeve looked over at the young girl. "Continue to look for any other information you can regarding these two, if possible. I'd also like to know their origins and how they came to join Deepground – that intel might be particularly useful."

Shelke nodded in agreement. "An excellent idea. I will inform you both when I have more information."

"Good. Vincent, could you contact her and ask her to meet us here?"

Vincent held up his cellphone before dialing Risa's number. "One step ahead of you."

The phone rang a few times before Risa answered, her connection littered with static as if she were deep underground. "Risa." A few moments later he closed his phone and nodded at Reeve. "She's on her way and should be here in a few hours."

"Excellent." Reeve pushed a button on the elevator panel as they waited. "I have a feeling there's more to this than what's in the data archives."

Vincent said nothing, although his mind worked rapidly as he absorbed what he had just learned about the seemingly innocent girl from a night ago. "Reeve, are you able to track cellphone signals?"

"Why, yes. Easily." Reeve gave Vincent a curious look. "Would you like me to track her location?"

"If possible, yes. I suspect she is out looking on her own, and I'd like to know her whereabouts. The less trouble she's in, the less trouble she can cause."

Reeve cracked a smile. "True enough. Give me a few minutes once I get up to my office and I'll send the information to your phone."

The elevator paused to allow Vincent to disembark. "Thank you. I'll keep in touch." He tipped his head towards Reeve as the door closed between them.

A few minutes later, Vincent's phone gave the tell-tale beep of a message waiting. He glanced at the promised information sent from Reeve – and let out a curse.

Risa's signal originated from none other than the entrance to Deepground itself.

"Damn." _Maybe Reeve was right. _Vincent dialed the WRO leader's number as he began to run towards the exit. "Reeve. She's in Deepground. Yes, now."


End file.
